Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently propositioned a wealth tax that will tax the rich by a great deal. The New York Times said that Sanders’ proposal would significantly reduce the fortunes of ultra-rich households in half within 15 years.
In Sanders’ proposal, households that fall into a certain bracket will be taxed not by income but based on their accumulated wealth. The plan is to charge affluent families according to their net worth. This covers around 180,000 households or 0.1% of the richest households in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, this plan would be able to accumulate an estimated fund of $4.35 trillion over the next 10 years. Households with over $32 million will be taxed 1%.
Families with a net worth of $50 to $250 million will be charged 2%, 3% for those with $250 to $500 million and 4% for those with $500 million to $1 billion. There would be a cap of 8% for net worth more than $10 billion.
This bracketing system applies for married filers only. According to the New York Times, “the brackets would be halved for single filers.”
‘Billionaire’s shouldn’t exist’
When asked what he thinks about the existence of billionaires, the candidate expressed his hope that “the days come when they {do not}.” However, he acknowledged that “[it is] not going to be tomorrow.” While he recognized that there will always be a group of people with more money than others, he said that the reform proposal would “[eliminate] a lot of wealth that billionaires have.”
Sanders’ wealth tax aligned with the Democratic Party’s push toward taxing the rich. The campaign of Elizabeth Warren, another democratic candidate, is also focused on imposing 2% taxes on the families with a net worth of $50 million and above, while those with more than $1 billion will be charged 3%. The plan will apply for single and married filers.
